Representatives from the Chicago Bears and New Evolution Ventures presented a general rendering of a Bears Fit facility along Townline Road in Vernon Hills where Sports Authority once operated.

Representatives from the Chicago Bears and New Evolution Ventures presented a general rendering of a Bears Fit facility along Townline Road in Vernon Hills where Sports Authority once operated. (Village of Vernon Hills)

Vernon Hills trustees Tuesday night gave informal support to the Chicago Bears and their commercial partner to repurpose the vacant Sports Authority building on Townline Road into a fitness center.

A presentation was given during the Village Board’s committee of the whole meeting. After the initial positive feedback, employees will work with the fitness center’s team on drafting paperwork for formal approval at the next Village Board meeting.

Cliff Stein, vice president of football administration and general counsel for the Bears, was among the presenters. He showed images of a similar club created at the Dallas Cowboys practice facility.

“Bears Fit is for everyone, no matter how old you are, no matter what your health condition is, whether you play sports or not. It’s for anyone else who wants to be in shape and healthy,” Stein said.

Bears Fit would use all of the 45,000-square-foot building, according to village documents. New signs featuring the Bears logo would be the only exterior changes, documents say.

The facility would also likely be home to TV and radio shows and public sessions by coaches, Stein said. He noted the 3.4-mile distance to Halas Hall as a positive.

“We think that we’ll even attract current players and alumni to come there,” Stein said. “They do like to train and do things off site.”

Stein said partner Mark Mastrov, who founded 24 Hour Fitness and several UFC-themed fitness centers, is the largest purchaser of fitness equipment in the world. He said the facility would have some customized equipment.

“We have sports science experts that will do different things like biomechanical assessments and performance analysis, injury prevention, nutritional studies, sleep studies and essentially all the recovery that professional athletes get that you don’t normally get at your ordinary fitness club,” Stein said.

Village Trustee Cindy Hebda, who is a teacher in the Vernon Hills Park District’s early childhood program, was the only member of the board to voice concern. She referenced the park district’s Lakeview Fitness Center, which is located less than a mile away.

“We partnered with the park district to bring a fitness center there and we gave them $2 million and they’re supposed to pay us back through the uses of their facility, although it’s certainly a lot smaller than yours,” Hebda said. “I’m wondering how we’re going to manage that loan when you’ll be in competition with the park district.”

Lakeview Fitness Center was previously the Central Lake YMCA before the nonprofit announced in 2012 it would close due to financial woes.

Village Trustee Michael Marquardt said Lifetime Fitness, which is located about three miles away on Milwaukee Avenue, charges around $120 per month while the park district charges about $40. He asked Stein where Bears Fit would compare.

Stein declined to share the membership costs, but he said the fees would be between those two numbers, and the services would attract different clientele, including people from outside Vernon Hills. He said competition and demographics were factors when deciding where to locate the facility.

“You can’t have enough fitness centers in Vernon Hills,” Stein said.

Mayor Roger Byrne said the park district facility is different because it has a daycare center and pool as well.

Sports Authority vacated the building in mid-2016 after bankruptcy proceedings. A village report says Vernon Hills requires property in the core retail district to have a certificate of conversion in order to operate a businesses that does not generate sales tax.

Three options are listed in the village report. One involves the applicant agreeing to make a “payment in lieu of taxes” to the village. Another option allows the conversion if trustees believe that the use would strengthen surrounding properties. The final option says the property cannot yield a “reasonable rate of return” without the conversion.

Stein referenced numerous corporate retail stores, including Hawthorn Mall, that are located within a mile of the proposed Bears Fit. He said they estimate between 1,000 and 2,000 people will visit the gym each day.

“They will be shopping at these stores and helping the local community,” Stein said. “We’re excited to help make this area that’s been sitting around unused to be part of a premier retail destination, which you’ve done a great job of with this community already.”

A village report indicates Bears Fit would sell Chicago Bears apparel and estimates about $500,000 in annual revenue that would generate $6,250 in village sales tax.

Stein said the retail portion would be about 2,000 square feet and would be open to the public regardless of memberships. He said the store would be a location where new Bears merchandise would be sold.

“This would be our first standalone retail outside the stadium,” Stein said. “We don’t have any brick-and-mortar stores like some other teams do, so we’re excited to do that too.”

During the straw poll, Hebda voted “present” while Byrne and all other trustees voted in favor of the conversion.

Stein said he hopes to get permits by July and have the facility open to the public by the end of the year.